{"id":16,"date":"2016-08-18T15:51:42","date_gmt":"2016-08-18T15:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/inklingmedia.net\/?p=16"},"modified":"2018-04-26T12:31:07","modified_gmt":"2018-04-26T12:31:07","slug":"facebook-contests-done-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/localhost\/inklingmedia.net\/facebook-contests-done-right\/","title":{"rendered":"Facebook Contests Done Right"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Do Facebook contests really work? They do! If you\u2019re planning to organize a contest on Facebook and want to ensure its success, there are some guidelines you must follow. When done in the right way, Facebook contests can allow business owners to increase sales and ensure customer loyalty. Aren\u2019t these the most important things in the business world? Before you begin a contest, consider if it\u2019s absolutely necessary. Running a contest because everyone else is doing it is a mistake. If you\u2019re seeking more Facebook likes and increased brand awareness, then a contest might help to achieve those objectives.<\/p>\n

Step One<\/h2>\n

The first thing to do is to know what market you\u2019re trying to reach. Who do you want to take part in the contest? Once you have a firm idea of the people whom you\u2019re targeting, you can promote the contest accordingly. Next, decide what type of contest will work best. Will it be a sweepstakes contest? These are easy to enter and boost product\/service likes and awareness. A prize is given to a random winner (very much like a name taken from a hat) on a specified date. Or, will it be an instant win contest? This operates like a casino slot machine, and rapidly engages your fan base. There are other types of contests too: photo contests, essay contests, and video contests.<\/p>\n

Step Two<\/h2>\n

The next step is to become familiar with Facebook\u2019s policies. The list of what you can and can\u2019t do is long. For example, you must state loud and clear that the contest is not being sponsored or administered by Facebook, and they are quite adamant about this. Winners have to be notified by email or phone before their names can be publicly announced on Facebook. And, calls to action such as \u201cDon\u2019t forget to vote\u201d and \u201cTell your friends\u201d are prohibited.<\/p>\n

\"ShortIt\u2019s no longer a requirement that contests be run on a third-party app, but it\u2019s still a good practice. First and foremost, your life will be so much easier because the contest is simpler to run. Secondly, you\u2019ll get real-time analytics, which are great for measuring how many people enter the contest. You can collect email addresses and interact with participants even after the contest is finished. Have you thought about making the contest open to Facebook users who don\u2019t live in your own country? If you do this, work out how you will ship the prize to the winner.<\/p>\n

Even after the contest is over, the job of marketing isn\u2019t. To develop positive relationships with those who entered the contest and to entice potential customers, do a follow-up. Here are some ways to do that.<\/p>\n

Congratulate the winner, and if geography isn\u2019t an issue meet the individual up close and snap a photo with him\/her receiving the prize. Make a blog post with the photo and thank all who participated. Make sure to invite them to the next contest, taking place next month or next year. Run different types of contest each time, and remember to have fun!<\/p>\n

For example if you have just opened a new barber shop and want to spread the word about the new shop, you may run a facebook contest. You could offer a few free hair cuts or a beard trimmer to try and make your potential customers take notice of the contest and want to engage in the competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do Facebook contests really work? They do! If you\u2019re planning to organize a contest on Facebook and want to ensure its success, there are some guidelines you must follow. When done in the right way, Facebook contests can allow business owners to increase sales and ensure customer loyalty. Aren\u2019t these the most important things in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/inklingmedia.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/inklingmedia.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/inklingmedia.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/inklingmedia.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/inklingmedia.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/inklingmedia.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":135,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/inklingmedia.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16\/revisions\/135"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/inklingmedia.net\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/inklingmedia.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/inklingmedia.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/inklingmedia.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}